Anunoby and Towns help the Knicks blow it open on the way to a 125-101 rout of the Hornets
NEW YORK (AP) OG Anunoby scored 15 of his 25 points during a third quarter in which he also blocked consecutive 3-point shots on opposite sides of the floor, helping the New York Knicks pull away to beat the Charlotte Hornets 125-101 on Thursday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds in the Knicks' fourth straight victory. Jalen Brunson scored 24 points, 19 in the first quarter.
Anunoby's scoring broke open what was a one-point game early in the second half, and his back-to-back blocks late in the third had fans chanting “OG! OG!” after a 28-6 spurt gave New York a 93-70 advantage.
Brandon Miller scored 26 points in the Hornets' seventh straight loss.
Hornets: Things were already going to be tough for a team missing LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Tre Mann, three of its top four scorers. The Hornets then lost rookie Tidjane Salaun to a sprained left ankle in the first quarter. The No. 6 pick from France was coming off his first career double-double.
Knicks: The Knicks, who routed Orlando two nights earlier to clinch a spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, appearing to be peaking. They are also getting healthier, with backup big man Precious Achiuwa making his season debut Thursday after sitting out the first 21 games with a strained left hamstring.
The Knicks didn't score for more than 2 1/2 minutes to start the second half. Anunoby then had a couple 3-pointers and Towns converted consecutive three-point plays, one on a ferocious dunk in traffic, in the 28-6 run that turned a 65-64 lead into a 23-point one.
All five Knicks starters scored at least 18 points.
The Knicks host Detroit on Saturday, looking for their 17th straight win in the series. Charlotte hosts Cleveland on Saturday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Nick Richards vs. Karl-Anthony Towns (Hornets gains possession) | ||
| 11:40 |  | Nick Richards turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 11:20 | | Nick Richards blocks OG Anunoby's two point driving dunk | ||
| 11:18 | | Brandon Miller defensive rebound | ||
| 11:09 | | Josh Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:07 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 11:00 | | +2 | Josh Hart makes two point running layup (Jalen Brunson assists) | 0-2 |
| 10:46 | | +2 | Tidjane Salaun makes two point cutting dunk (Nick Richards assists) | 2-2 |
| 10:29 | | Jalen Brunson misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 10:26 | | Tidjane Salaun defensive rebound | ||
| 10:09 | | +2 | Nick Richards makes two point jump shot (Vasilije Micic assists) | 4-2 |
| 9:49 | | Mikal Bridges turnover (bad pass) (Tidjane Salaun steals) | ||
| 9:47 | | Josh Hart shooting foul (Tidjane Salaun draws the foul) | ||
| 9:47 | | +1 | Tidjane Salaun makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-2 |
| 9:47 | | +1 | Tidjane Salaun makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 6-2 |
| 9:46 | | Tidjane Salaun personal foul (Take) (Jalen Brunson draws the foul) | ||
| 9:33 | | +2 | OG Anunoby makes two point driving layup (Mikal Bridges assists) | 6-4 |
| 9:33 | | Brandon Miller defensive goaltending violation | ||
| 9:16 | | +3 | Brandon Miller makes three point jump shot (Vasilije Micic assists) | 9-4 |
| 8:57 | | Josh Hart misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:55 | | Brandon Miller defensive rebound | ||
| 8:49 | | +2 | Nick Richards makes two point running dunk (Brandon Miller assists) | 11-4 |
| 8:43 | | Knicks 60 second timeout | ||
| 8:37 | | Josh Hart misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 8:35 | | Brandon Miller defensive rebound | ||
| 8:27 | | Brandon Miller misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:25 | | Nick Richards offensive rebound | ||
| 8:22 | | Nick Richards turnover (bad pass) (Jalen Brunson steals) | ||
| 8:18 | | Mikal Bridges misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 8:15 | | Cody Martin defensive rebound | ||
| 8:00 | | +2 | Brandon Miller makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 13-4 |
| 8:00 | | OG Anunoby shooting foul (Brandon Miller draws the foul) | ||
| 8:00 | | +1 | Brandon Miller makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 14-4 |
| 7:48 | | Mikal Bridges misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:45 | | Nick Richards defensive rebound | ||
| 7:40 | | Brandon Miller misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:37 | | Josh Green offensive rebound | ||
| 7:35 | | +2 | Josh Green makes two point tip dunk | 16-4 |
| 7:24 | | Josh Green personal foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | ||
| 7:22 | | Vasilije Micic shooting foul (Jalen Brunson draws the foul) | ||
| 7:22 | | +1 | Jalen Brunson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 16-5 |
| 7:22 | | +1 | Jalen Brunson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-6 |
| 7:01 | | +2 | Vasilije Micic makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 18-6 |
| 6:40 | | Karl-Anthony Towns misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:38 | | Nick Richards defensive rebound | ||
| 6:27 | | Cody Martin misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:25 | | Brandon Miller offensive rebound | ||
| 6:23 | | Vasilije Micic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:19 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 6:15 | | Brandon Miller shooting foul (Jalen Brunson draws the foul) | ||
| 6:15 | | +1 | Jalen Brunson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-7 |
| 6:15 | | Jalen Brunson misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 6:14 | | Cody Martin defensive rebound | ||
| 6:04 | | +2 | Brandon Miller makes two point driving dunk | 20-7 |
| 5:44 | | +2 | Josh Hart makes two point alley-oop layup (Mikal Bridges assists) | 20-9 |
| 5:29 | | Nick Richards turnover (bad pass) (Mikal Bridges steals) | ||
| 5:24 | | +3 | Jalen Brunson makes three point running jump shot (Mikal Bridges assists) | 20-12 |
| 5:23 | | Hornets 60 second timeout | ||
| 5:09 | | Miles McBride personal foul (Josh Green draws the foul) | ||
| 5:00 | | KJ Simpson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:58 | | Miles McBride defensive rebound | ||
| 4:49 | | Jericho Sims misses two point reverse layup | ||
| 4:47 | | Mark Williams defensive rebound | ||
| 4:34 | | +2 | Cody Martin makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Brandon Miller assists) | 22-12 |
| 4:25 | | Josh Green personal foul (Jalen Brunson draws the foul) | ||
| 4:25 | | +1 | Jalen Brunson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-13 |
| 4:25 | | +1 | Jalen Brunson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-14 |
| 4:10 | | Josh Green misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 4:08 | | Mark Williams offensive rebound | ||
| 4:03 | | +3 | Brandon Miller makes three point jump shot (Mark Williams assists) | 25-14 |
| 3:51 | | +3 | Jalen Brunson makes three point pullup jump shot | 25-17 |
| 3:30 | | +2 | Mark Williams makes two point turnaround hook shot (KJ Simpson assists) | 27-17 |
| 3:21 | | +3 | Jalen Brunson makes three point pullup jump shot | 27-20 |
| 2:59 | | KJ Simpson misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 2:57 | | Jericho Sims defensive rebound | ||
| 2:47 | | Miles McBride misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:45 | | Josh Green defensive rebound | ||
| 2:36 | | +3 | Brandon Miller makes three point pullup jump shot (Josh Green assists) | 30-20 |
| 2:14 | | Jericho Sims turnover (bad pass) (Mark Williams steals) | ||
| 2:10 | | +2 | Brandon Miller makes two point running finger roll layup | 32-20 |
| 2:01 | | Knicks 60 second timeout | ||
| 1:51 | | +2 | Jalen Brunson makes two point driving floating jump shot | 32-22 |
| 1:34 | | Mark Williams misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 1:32 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 1:12 | | Nick Smith Jr. personal foul (Miles McBride draws the foul) | ||
| 1:12 | | +1 | Miles McBride makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 32-23 |
| 1:12 | | +1 | Miles McBride makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 32-24 |
| 0:56 | | Nick Smith Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:54 | | Mikal Bridges defensive rebound | ||
| 0:45 | | +3 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes three point jump shot (Miles McBride assists) | 32-27 |
| 0:33 | | Nick Smith Jr. misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:31 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 0:13 | | +3 | Jalen Brunson makes three point stepback jump shot | 32-30 |
| 0:01 | | Cody Martin misses two point jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Hornets offensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:49 | | +2 | Mikal Bridges makes two point alley-oop layup (Josh Hart assists) | 32-32 |
| 11:34 | | +3 | Nick Smith Jr. makes three point jump shot (Vasilije Micic assists) | 35-32 |
| 11:16 | | +3 | Josh Hart makes three point jump shot (Miles McBride assists) | 35-35 |
| 10:46 | | +2 | Vasilije Micic makes two point pullup bank jump shot | 37-35 |
| 10:31 | | Miles McBride misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:28 | | Nick Richards defensive rebound | </ |